Sollya heterophylla seeds – ( Australian Climbing Bluebell, Billardiera fusiformis)

Description

Picture thanks to Hello Hello Plants https://thetutuguru.com.au

In spring and summer this small vine has pretty blue bell shaped flowers, which are produced  in profusion .  The vine will grow to about 2 .5 m if given support. It has soft green shiny leaves, prefers well drained soil  and the plant will tolerate light frosts only. Seeds are best sown in spring or autumn .

Sowing advice

The  recommendation is to apply  a smoke treatment for this seed to germinate well.

You can either

1.Use a ready made solution such as :

• Biogrow seed soak

2. If you have the time to experiment , and like unusual germination techniques then a cheap option  which isn’t hard to do, for smoke treatment , is to use a covered object such as a common  wood charcoal  barbecue  with a lid ( kettle BBQ)  or a fish smoker or some type of tin can container which has a cover  . The charcoal BBQ with  a cover   is an option which we use  ( well we have one for summer BBQs anyway !)  and it has proved to be quite reliable

• In  the  BBQ/fish smoker/ tin container  , put  the material you will use for generating smoke , such as dryish grass  wood chips or dryish leaves, on the base of the container ( this is important as you just need smoke and not heat for the seeds.  You should use about 3-4 handfuls of the material.
• Light the material, and allow it to smoulder without burning. You can use a small amount of firestarter eg about 1/4 of a firestarter block. to get it going , but don’t use too much or it will burn too hot.  The temp should not get too hot. If your hand is too hot then the temperature is too hot.
• Place the seeds into a small open  container ( this can be a plastic container) , and put this container into the  barbecue/smoker etc, on the top rack on top of the base of the container, making sure they are not directly in the smoke or fire. Put the lid on the barbecue/smoker/ tin container.
• You may need to replenish the fire material a few times if ithe fire stops smouldering
• Leave the seeds inside the covered BBQ /smoker / tin /etc for  about 20 mins.
• Remove the seeds and sow

 

For both the above methods after the smoke treatment sow the seeds on the surface of a good quality seed raising mix. Sprinkle the seed lightly with mix. Do not let the mix completely dry out.  Ideal temp range 18-22 deg C. Germination should occur within a month, but can take longer .  Should this occur, set the seed pot aside somewhere and don’t discard as they often germinate when conditions suit them